Ashley Davis' dramatic reading of BioShock the Bedtime Story is compelling and moving, but ultimately serves only to underscore on terrible fact: no one reads me bedtime stories anymore. Forget live sex webcams. I want to start up a bedtime story live webcam service so no one has to spend another night falling asleep without story time.

After scouring the internet for upwards of 45 minutes I managed to find 24 different publications that had finished drip-feeding their readers their particular choices for games of the year.

The result? A tie!

Adding up the list you come up with seven votes for Grand Theft Auto IV and seven votes for Fallout 3. Of course, I'm sure you can find other outlets I've overlooked to break or extend that tie.

What really matters is that Giant Bomb, Time Magazine and The New York Times agreed with us.

Fable II: (4) Joystiq, PETA, The Telegraph and X-Play

Fallout 3: (7) The Associated Press, Crispy Gamer, Gamasutra, GamesRadar, Gamespy, UGO and
Yahoo Games

Grand Theft Auto IV: (7) GameTrailers, Giant Bomb, Kotaku, The New York Times, Play, Spike TV's VGAs and
Time Magazine

Left 4 Dead: (1) Destructoid

LittleBigPlanet: (3) Edge, Eurogamer and GamePro

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots: (1) GameSpot

Saint's Row 2: (1) Zero Punctuation

"Penny arcade sucks and is unfunny. please murder penny arcade and then yourself if you disagree with me," raves commenter ddf of Wired blog! He goes on to say, "this game sucks and anyone who likes it sucks. penny arcade sucks and is as funny as something that's not funny at all."

Well shit, ddf, that first one was pretty bulletproof. But the second I have two "funnys" I can lift out of context, including "penny arcade ... is ... funny!"

Destructoid did some snooping and found the guy is Denis Duckfat, a prolific, and repeatedly banned, troll on numerous comment boards since 2005. Apparently he has a fondness for William H. Macy and a loathing for anything remotely popular or fun. Sounds like a nice guy.

Penny Arcade Promotes Their Game With Flamebait from Their Biggest Critic [Destructoid]

Among the 10 signs:
• Any criticism of your chosen love is a result of bias
• Call everyone else a "fanboy" before they call you one
• Justify even the stupidest decisions/games

Well, I think we can all safely agree that none of these apply to any of us! And btw, I am toats not in the bag for Xbox 360, Rockstar sandboxers or any western-themed game.

Ten Golden Rules of Video Game Fanboyism [Destructoid]

Destructoid circa 1988: Our community turns two (and twenty) years old

"Not only is it an honor to have Destructoid represented in Bomberman Live, but it may also be the first time an online community has been immortalized in a popular gaming franchise," said Niero Gonzalez, Creator of Destructoid.com. "We're grateful that Hudson has extended our brand in this unique way, and invite all gamers to wreak havoc as the infamous Mr. Destructoid."

Hudson Partners With Destructoid In Bomb-Up Pack 2 For Bomberman Live New Content Includes the Exclusive Destructoid Mascot, and 2 New Levels

REDWOOD SHORES, CA - September 19, 2007 - Hudson Entertainment, the North American publishing arm for Hudson Soft, today announced that they have partnered with Destructoid.com, one of the top video game entertainment news sites, in Bomb-Up Pack 2, the second add-on pack for the Bomberman LIVE game on Xbox LIVE® Arcade. This new add-on pack will star Destructoid's mascot as a playable character, as well as feature over a dozen additions, including ten characters, two levels, two leader boards, and a brand new game mode. Bomb-Up Pack 2 is expected to launch on September 26 and will cost 250 Microsoft Points ($3.13).

"We continue to see great success with Bomberman Live, and are committed to bringing fresh new content through add-on packs for the game," said John Greiner, President and CEO of Hudson Entertainment. "Hudson is always pushing the creative envelope, and featuring a major gaming website in a game, a first for the industry, is a fun way to demonstrate our dedication to the community."

"Not only is it an honor to have Destructoid represented in Bomberman Live, but it may also be the first time an online community has been immortalized in a popular gaming franchise," said Niero Gonzalez, Creator of Destructoid.com. "We're grateful that Hudson has extended our brand in this unique way, and invite all gamers to wreak havoc as the infamous Mr. Destructoid."

This Bomberman LIVE add-on pack will add the following features:

* The Destructoid Mascot - The iconic, robotic mascot makes his way into the game, complete with his trademark helmet and white suit. Players can dress up their Bomberman as the robot and bomb away with the impunity of a blogger.
* Ten New Characters - In addition to Destructoid, other new characters include "Bomberella" the cavewoman and "El Bombito" the matador, resulting in countless new ways for players to customize their in-game Bomberman.
* Two Additional Levels - New arenas include "Medieval Times," a level in which bombs and sorcery collide, and the hypersonic "Full Tilt." racetrack
* One New Game Mode - "Bomb Shelters" will allow players to hide from explosions in a small, fireproof building.
* Two New Leaderboards - Dominate the competition on two new ranking systems on the Xbox LIVE® network. The new leaderboards will track performance on both a weekly and an all-time basis for the speed circle gimmicks on the new "Full Tilt" map.

The game was a blast and sharing it with my fellow friends and bloggers made it an extra amazing experience. This will definitely be a title that will quickly become a party classic, bringing drunken wanna be rockers together in the comfort of their living rooms regardless of talent. Just add a fog machine and you're a star, baby.

So it's April 1st today, April Fool's Day here in the States. Everyone plays practical jokes on each other and gets a good laugh at other people's expense. The wags at Destructoid seems to have gotten the ball rolling early (I say this because currently 6:30am where I am. See what I go through so you can have your precious game news?) with their completely revamped front page in honor of our illustrious leader, Crecente. It seems that since he's left the Rocky Mountain News that he's now opening a hair salon and all the Destructoid staffers are there to give their testimonials to his mad hair cutting skillz.

Of course, we here at Kotaku are above such sophomoric trifles as April Fool's Day and you can guarantee that all the stories you will read here today will be 100% true. Or will they? Mwa-ha-ha-ha! Just remember that everything I've ever told you has been a lie. Including that. Flynn De Marco

Wow, I can't believe it's only been a year (or so) since I first stumbled upon Destructoid and wrote a brief love note to their big, boxy mascot.

Oh Destructoid, you're so funny you make our sides hurt. What with your big metal grin, recently upgraded Lampoon 5000 chip and twin death rays, you're destined to spend a robotic lifetime cracking us up.

It was March 30, a mere two weeks after the site had gone live and my attentions were much appreciated.

In the twelve months since then we've asked Niero to justify his robot head, been briefly assimilated by the Destructoid collective, had some of my anatomy appear in their masthead and, by far the best bit, watch a new site blossom into a powerhouse of gaming news and opinion under the guiding hands of Niero and Robert Summa.

Congratulations guys and have fun at your party tonight. Sorry I can't make it, but hopefully some of our readers will show up to see if projectile vomit can clear the mouth grid. Enjoy the stretch hummer, you earned it. Brian Crecente

Destructoid Turns One [Destructoid]

I, along with Destructoid's Robert Summa, will be hitting the airwaves in just a few short hours to rap about the Nintendo DS and the PSP. He'll probably go off on how great the DS is, while I sing the praises of the PlayStation Portable and further wear out my welcome. Hey, it's not easy being a Sony cheerleader, especially when I'm doing triple duty as Nintendo fanboy and Xbox slut on top of that thankless job.

I'll highlight a few things about which you can make fun: my annoying nasal intonation, my delicate lisp, my baseless reasoning for why the PSP will ultimately be a success and Robert Summa's shifty eyeballs. Go nuts! Michael McWhertor

Attack of the Show [G4]

Occasional Kotaku features writer Colette Bennett sends us this snazzy, too-late-for-the-holidays Wii injury t-shirt. I hope the back of the shirt shows the remote sticking out with some kidney on it. Brian Crecente

Shirt of the week [Destructoid]

Destructoid's Robert Summa, surely en route to scope out Tickle Me Extreme Elmo's to shill on eBay this holiday season, got some footage and photo snaps of the freshly installed PlayStation 3 kiosk at the flagship Toys "R" Us in Times Square. The above video shows that the kiosks are equipped with (at the very least) a Motorstorm demo, but not all are currently operational. Check the D for photos not nearly as artifacted as that YouTube clip.

That's right: start calling your local Toys "R" Us now and demand that they install a PS3 kiosk just for you. Michael McWhertor

PS3 playable at Toys R Us Times Square [Destructoid]

I know I've said it before, and time travelers from the future tell me I'll say it again, but we here at Kotaku love Destructoid. They're just a great little site and deserve all the publicity they can get. But recently, there's been a little spat between Destructoid writer Faith Naked and Kotaku, and before it gets out of hand, I'd really like to just address it and hope sooth some worried, red-head brows.

We love Faith. She's like an excitable little cat who just freaks out into a flying ball of fur and razor-sharp claws every time you gently tug her tail. It's why we can't resist teasing her from time to time. But — apparently — I took it too far in a recent post of mine, in which I expressed disappointment when she said that hard core porn star Liz Vicious was not someone she intended to emulate as a girl gamer. This prompted her to write the following on the Destructoid Editor Forums:

I just wanted everyone to know that I refused to write, link or even read Kotaku.com anymore. I had enough of the bullshit that is posted on that site and I am especially tired of people like Florian and Eliza picked on me every chance they get. That site is a great example of bad journalism and I refuse to read their garbage anymore.

I think I speak for both Eliza and myself when we say that we never dreamed she'd take our playful little gibes so hard. We think she's just swell. We read her site every day. We hastened to make amends. But Faith's Kotaku Boycott is already in full swing. She's even taken time out of her schedule to draw up an official logo, seen to the right. And she's requesting signatures for an impromptu Boycott Kotaku petition.

I'd like to extend an olive branch to Faith. Obviously, she's right: I'm also pretty sick of my garbage. I would like to ask a personal favor of all of you. Would you please go over to Faith's site and sign her "Boycott Kotaku" petition?

I imagine a vast sea of tanned gamers in swarthy gladiatorial gear standing up and crying their outrage in unison, like at the end of Spartacus. As you can see, I led the charge. Don't be rude. Voice your full support for an Internet wide Kotaku boycott! It's the only way we'll be able to put me out of a job once and for all. And click her ad links while you're there. Show your support for a lone, brave voice crying out in the wilderness! Join the movement today!

Hopefully if Faith gets enough signatories it'll help brush aside all this animosity between us once and for all. After all, it's a small step between fellow game lovers and just plain lovers. And as Destructoid editor Niero also wrote on the editor forums, "I think Florian secretly wants your babies." Florian Eckhardt

Reminder: BE NICE! I'm not sending you over there to rake her over the coals. It's a conciliatory gesture! Various Anonymouses, I'm looking at you! Don't be rude!

Boycotting Kotaku.com [The Girl Gamer]

Destructoid got a first look at the upcoming Family Guy game, and seem to approve..

Overall impressions The game actually look fun and keeps a lot of that strange humor and fast cut away scenes (done with WarioWare-like mini-games) that you'd expect in something coming from the Family Guy.

The game comes out Oct. 17 for the PlayStation 2, PSP, and Xbox. If you're a fan, I think this may actually be a solid game for you and you'll enjoy it. Although, if you agree with South Park's stance and can't stand Family Guy, then you won't like this game either.

I've been impressed with the cel-shading in this. Maybe it's just that the cartooning style for Family Guy is already well-defined, but this is the most successful use of cel-shading to get a flat, animated look that I've seen. Eliza Gauger

Dtoid First Look; Family Guy [Destructoid]

Destructoid's Robert Summa quizzed a handful of your "average" gaming plebes at the Fusion event at the Nintendo World Store. He asks basic questions like "What did you think?", "Did you pre-order?" and "Any problems with the controller?" Fine report from the trenches. What about those in Kotakuland? Thoughts, opinions welcomed. Brian Ashcraft

People's Wii Perspective [D-toid]

Destructoid's readers (and contributors) are a tawdry, villainous bunch. As are scoundrels over at The Age blogs, where Destructoid got the idea for compiling a list of gaming sins in the first place.

For my own part, I despise the tendency of gamers to regard the personal tastes of themselves or others as wrong. Liking or not liking something is not immoral, because it has no effect on others. It's not a sin that you didn't finish Halo. It's not a sin that you dig Parappa. And it's most certainly not a sin to hate Sierra adventure games (it's common bloody sense).

Be absolved.

The most sinful confessions from both Destructoid and the Age's threads were often the ones not regarded so sinfully by onlookers, such as the Age's 'Bluie's precocious chirp, "My favourite game is Unreal Tournament (and I'm a girl)and the newer versions just can't beat it." Note here the absence of awareness of the morally repugnant nature of braying about your vagina every time you get a chance to relate it to gaming.

Hit the jump for my favorite sin from the 'Toid, plus personal confessions from myself and Stickypig (who is tired of being called Sizzlepig).

Being a fanboy is also, most certainly, a sin. If I see one more totally console-free comment thread get turned into a ps3 vs. wii pissing match, I'm calling the Pope to come and take you all to hell. And I'm not talking about John-Paul, either.

But my all-time favorite was from Destructoid, and has nothing to do with pontiffs or pussies:

# Xbudz says: September 19th, 2006 at 9:42 am

You guys call those gaming sins? Try this:

I sold my birthday presents for a Sega Saturn during its suprise launch in 1995.
# Chris Taran

For Stickypig's part, during Sega's promotion for Truxton, he missed the deadline by which he had to purchase another Sega game and send in the receipt to get a free copy of the former. But through the intervention of some dark god, S-Pig was struck with the inspiration to manually transfigure the date on a diferent receipt, thus receiving his ill-gotten game in a timely manner.

For my own part, I discovered that the secondary controller would steer the duck in Duck Hunt. I did not tell my friend who was actually manning the light gun, and who suddenly seemed to become far less proficient at the game. Eliza Gauger

Confess Your Gaming Sins [Destructoid]
Gaming Confessions [The Age Blogs]

We found one of the boys from Destructoid running around with a robot head on and we asked him to justify, well, his robot head. And yes, we got him to dance.

We're holding our breaths until November [Destructoid]